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- A remote Japanese village is using NFTs to support its ageing population
- The village is selling collectibles and using the proceeds to organize school events and other community initiatives
- The project has the blessings of the country’s ruling party, which contributed $62,500 as a grant
Japan’s Neo-Yamakoshi village found in the Niigata mountains is changing how it cares for its elderly population by turning to NFTs. The village is using an NFT collection dubbed “Nishikigoi” to raise funds that go into funding community projects like school events. Collectibles in the collection also give holders a seat at the village’s DAO, enabling non-residents to participate in running the village whose elderly people account for 56% of its population.
Free for Physical Residents
According to a report by Yuri Group, the village has so far raised $423,000 and has the backing of the country’s ruling party, which contributed $62,500 during the project’s early days. Each collectible retails for roughly $107 for non-residents but free for residents physically located in the village.
Yuri Group noted that, despite the success, the project is facing major hurdles like language barriers when communicating with non-Japanese digital citizens. Another barrier is less than half of Nishikigoi NFT collectors not participating in discussions through voting.
The village’s interaction with web3 technologies is in line with the country’s mission to become a leader in the web3 sector. Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has in the past expressed the country’s commitment to invest in metaverse and NFTs to showcase innovations.
Tech Firms to Create an Open Metaverse
The country’s positive view on web3 technologies has seen Japanese tech firms unite to create a metaverse economic zone that will fuel the creation of, among other things, an open metaverse infrastructure.
Other countries like China are also shifting their focus to blockchain, NFTs and the metaverse. China is also formulating regulations to govern the space.
With a remote Japanese village turning to NFTs to support the elderly, it adds another use case for virtual collectibles.
